Life Is Beautiful Chapter 1: Right Now
by RuinzOfBlood
Summary: Ki lives in NYC. One day she meets Darren. And, their friendship begins.


Ki looked over, and saw a young man struggling with a vending machine.

"$2.50 for a frickin' soda, and you don't even give me my god damn drink?!" the young man growled.

"Here," Ki stood up, and walked over to the guy. "Not a lot of people know how to work this thing."

Ki gave the machine a kick, and the pop came tumbling out. She picked up the pop and handed it to the young man.

"Why thank you, mysterious stranger." The guy said, grinning.

"I'm Ki," she paused. "It's basically 'sky' without the 'S'."

"Unique name. How do you spell it?"

"'K' and 'I'."

"With spelling like that, you'd think it'd be 'key' or something. Oh, I'm Darren, by the way." Darren held out his hand.

Ki glanced down at Darren's nails. Darren dropped his hand.

"Nice nails." Ki said, smirking.

Darren's face lost its color.

"I, uh…I do constructi-"

"Uh-huh." Ki held up her hand, revealing her own razor sharp nails. "And, I'm Mother Teresa."

"So you're a vampire?"

"Half, actually." Ki sighed. "Only in New York city."

"Tell me about it." Darren smiled. "Do you have a place to stay tonight?"

"No. I just wander around, usually sleeping in old warehouses."

"I have an apartment."

"I'm not going to sleep with you Darren."

"No. No, I didn't mean it in that way. I meant you could stay with me you'd have a roof over your head. And let's face it those hobos' can get very territorial."

Ki smiled and shook her head. "I suppose."

"OK, let's grab your things and go to my place."

Ki followed Darren into his apartment. Darren flipped on one of his floor lamps. Ki set her stuff down, and surveyed her surroundings. For a bachelor, his apartment was clean. He had a nice stereo system, hug CD collection, a bookcase full of books, and a futon – all in his living room.

"Nice place you got here." Ki smiled.

Just then, a puppy came running up to Ki. Ki got on her knees and played with the puppy.

"She's so cute, Darren! What kind of dog is she?" Ki asked, letting the puppy lick her face.

"She's a pit bull. Her name's Sammy." Darren smiled, as Sammy was sniffing Ki's belongings.

Ki smiled, and stood up. "Do I get a tour?"

"Sure." Darren motioned for her to follow him.

He stopped in front of his bathroom. "This is my bathroom. A lot of fancy stonework in here."

Ki nodded, and followed Darren to his room.

"And this is my room. Contrary to popular belief, this is NOT where the magic happens. I just sleep. The farthest I've ever gone, is making out." Darren tried to hide his embarrassment.

"Lucky you."

Ki looked at Darren's room. He had a four poster bed, dark red drapes, and a lot of candles.

"Fancy place." Ki looked at Darren's dresser, and walked over to it.

On his dresser was a letter that Paris had written to him. She picked up the letter and read it:

Darren,

How are you doing, my dear friend? I am writing to inform you, about something very important. I fear that I do not have that much longer, to live. I hope that you will continue your quest, to destroy the enemy. I do hope to see you before I leave, if not: Good-bye, Darren.

Truly Yours,

Paris

Ki stood there, speechless.

"You knew Paris?" Darren asked, looking over Ki's shoulder.

Ki nodded, unsure of what to say.

"He's dead?" Ki asked, setting the letter down.

"Yeah," Darren replied, sadly.

"He was like a father to me. I mean…after my parents were killed, he took me in and raised me. He was so gentle, and patient." Ki walked back to Darren's living room, and sat on the futon.

Darren sat down next to Ki.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Darren asked, putting her hand in his.

"Not right now. I just want to be left alone."

Darren nodded. "OK."

Darren stood up, and went over to his laptop. Thoughts started to swarm around in Ki's head.

Sammy jumped up, and lay down on Ki's lap. Ki began to mindlessly stroke Sammy.

Ki drifted off to sleep.

Sometime later Ki woke up, and saw Darren still at his laptop.

"Darren?"

Darren walked over to Ki, and sat down next to her.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

"I think you should know, about how I became who I am." Ki said, looking at Darren.

"OK."

Ki sighed and began to speak.

"I was eight years old. My mother, and father, took me to 'Cirque Du Freak'. My mother and father were chatting with an old friend. I went to get cotton candy. As I was looking for my parents, I saw someone taking them to the nearby woods. So, I followed. This grotesque looking creature killed them. I was hiding in a bush. I could've done something. You know? I could've tried to stop it. But I didn't. I ended up traveling with the circus. During that time I asked to become a vampire. I found out that it would be a long process. But, I didn't care. Paris took me in. He was so gentle. So patient," Ki paused, and wiped her eyes. "They say vampires are almost never saddened, the way humans are. But I was devastated. Now, my best friend is gone."

Darren nodded, and took her hands in his, once again.

"I'm really sorry, Ki. All I did was try to steal a spider, and here I am." Darren's own eyes began to tear up. "I'm so sorry"

"I've been to so many hospitals. None of them helped. I guess that doesn't matter anymore. But, thank you Darren."

"No problem." Darren looked at Ki.

"What are you looking at?"

"You."


End file.
